Annie the Tibbers Tamer - Mr. Tibbers

First off, let me make it known that I'm not really a high level player. I'm mid to mid-high tier, most likely. When I first started this game, I was, admittedly, in love with...

Rammus. Then, later on I grew to love Annie more. Hence the name (I changed it). Annie is about a low to mid tier caster champion. Each of her skill are nukes; straight up damage, all of it. She has one defensive skill, but it damages opponents for attacking you, so it still counts. Her bread and butter, however, is her passive. It causes Annie's spell to stun after every five spells. This is what Annie lives for. It's what she breathes, it's what she drinks.

In the time shortly before the League, there were those within the sinister city-state of Noxus that did not agree with the evils perpetrated by the Noxian High Command. These outcasts sought to leave their neighbors in peace as they pursued dark arcane knowledge. The leaders of this outcast society were a married couple, a grey witch and a cabal warlock. Together they resettled their followers beyond the Great Barrier to the northern reaches of the unforgiving Voodoo Lands. This couple's child, Annie, now comes to the Institute of War to pursue her calling. The combination of Annie's lineage and the dark magic of her birthplace have given this little girl tremendous arcane power. At the age of two she miraculously ensorcelled a shadow bear, a ferocious denizen of the petrified forests outside the colony, turning it into her pet. To this day she keeps her bear, Tibbers, by her side, often keeping him spellbound as a stuffed doll to be carried like a child's toy.

In the courtyards that dot the landscape inside the Institute of War, Annie is all sweetness and light, living the carefree life of an imaginative, playful child. Champions who have met her in battle, however, will tell you that a different Annie comes out to play when she is inside the arenas. Annie has the power of destruction by fire at her fingertips, bringing fireballs to bear against her foes which fuel her magic reserves should they strike their targets down. Occasionally her spells will even stun an unsuspecting opponent. She can scorch multiple enemies by unleashing a cone of torrid flame in front of her. Annie can encase herself in a sphere of fire, boosting her protection while harming those who would dare strike her. Finally, Annie can unleash Tibbers, releasing him from his doll-prison to wreak havoc on her enemies.

Pyromania: After every 5 spells cast, Annie's next offensive spell will cause a 1.75 second stun. (Natural Passive.)
Disintegrate: Annie hurls a mana infused fireball, dealing damage and refunding the mana cost if it destroys the target.

Deals 90/130/170/215/260 (+.6 per ability power) magic damage to the target. Mana cost is refunded if it deals a killing blow.

Cooldown: 4 seconds.
Cost: 60/75/90/105/120 Mana
Range: 625

Incinerate: Annie casts a blazing cone of fire, dealing damage to all targets in the area.

Runes are simple things. For Annie, I run a -cooldown page. When I feel like it, I run a Spell Penetration page too, but I believe that the -cooldown page not only makes you more useful to your team, but it's a better help for you too. So, I wholeheartedly suggest -cooldown.

This is all player preference, here. It also has to do with the masteries you choose, or maybe you need to choose masteries based on summoner spells, but no matter which it is...remember. Matching them up is pretty important. Not necessary per se, but nice. Always do it if you can. That having been said, just choose what you want. I myself run Exhaust and Teleport. Teleport so I can travel the map quicker and ensure I'm nearly always in lane, and Exhaust for the Spell Pen it provides in upgraded form and the slow to help get off Stun-Tibbers.

I would suggest the 9/0/21 cooldown setup. Others suggest the 0/21/9 setup, which makes for a strong and tough Annie I hear. I really don't care too much which one you use, but I do want to say...

Don't go 21/0/9 or 21/9/0. You'd be wasting so much in the offense tree, it's just not funny. If you want bang for your bucks, head defense and get Ardor. Otherwise, go with me and take the cooldown mastery build.

This is where I often differ from other players. Some people hate buying multiple items; I, however, love it. Especially on Annie. In short, I run two main builds for Annie. One is my "Tank" Annie build. It's my favorite, and it can pack a punch so don't think too much about that tank bit. This is how it goes:

With this build you hit around...3k HP and about the equivalent in mana. An early Rod of Ages makes up for lost Tear of Goddess time while also making you tough enough to take some early blows. By the end of the build, you ought to be running about 5 hundrer AP. So, tough AND strong. Runs very well, I recommend this one highly.

Then, there's my damage build. It's an Annie that focuses on AP. No mana, no life, just killing power. And, it runs very well. I don't like how dependent it is on a good early game though, so I stick with my tank build. It's just as powerful as the tank build though. A well played early game can get you up to 200AP by the time you hit level 11.

I almost never get to the Rod of Ages. The Mejaj's can keep you going well on AP for a long time, so the fact that your next two items are so low in the AP department doesn't really matter too much. This Annie is fragile, and should be played more carefully. She will be focused but, you have to remember.

You're dying because they're scared of you. That, or you just feed so much they can't resist focusing you for the free kill.

Annie is a pretty straight shooter. You're looking to do one thing, and one thing only. Stun. Stun gets you kills, stun gets you team fights, STUN STUN STUN STUN TIBBERS. But anyways, yeah. Stun 'em.

How? Almost everyone knows you stun when you get the swirly. You can use this to your advantage though; some players associate swirly with danger. They have a built in response to do either:

A) Focus stun Annie before she kills them.
B) Run.

B is always more likely, so it's often awesome to use it for the psychological warfare alone. Then, there's the opposite effect. If you don't have the swirly, a lot of people don't think you can stun. What I mean is, they don't get that you can and will spam every spell you have to knock that from a 2x to a stun in a second flat.

Early Game:

What I do until level 4 or 5, is sit back and Disintegrate whatever I can. The range is long enough, and with good enough last hitting, you need never worry about mana. This means that you can focus extra spells on the enemy you are laning against. Whenever you have a stun up and you have more than enough mana to have two Disintegrates after casting, Disintergrate your opponent. This ought to force them into a defensive mode of thinking and keep them from trying to actively stop your farming.

Mid Game:

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This is where the pwnage begins. With Tibbers in hand and two mighty spells, you roam the map (or stay in lane) and burst the hell out of whoever you find. Make sure, however, you always have Tibbers before you attempt a gank. Early on, he's the only way to ensure a kill and survival. By this point, you should have Rod of Ages and at least be working on Tear of Goddess, if not have it finished and a Rod of Ages beginning.

Late Game:

You lose some potential, but a well played Annie kills just as well late game. By this time you ought to have finished both Rods of Ages, Sorceror's Boots, and Archangel Staff. If you have more time, straight to Zhonya's for you. Just push with team as much as possible. Remember, you can 1v1 fine, so don't be scared to fight them, even late game. Alright? In group battles you tend to be focused more to stop the Stun-Tibbers effect.

*Note: I don't state what items you should have for the AP build because, honestly, it fluctuates way too much based on your early game to really tell where you should be at in item purchases.

And there you have it. That's how I play Annie in a nutshell. Updates will be regular, changes may be made depending on how awesome new builds get. For now, though, I prefer to leave Deathfire out until it becomes a more...proven, item.